It's been almost 10 years since we last heard from Jamie xx at length. of 2015 In color he took the moody brand of minimalism his band that the xx had perfected for a spin on the dance floor. Since then, he's sprinkled in some under-the-radar production tracks for high-profile artists like Frank Ocean, Miley Cyrus and Tyler, the Creator, as well as his bandmates' solo records. In color it culminated in the Romy feature “Loud Places”, in which he outlines the different reasons people have to go out: to find a lover to come home to, to find a reason to never come home again. And Romy's co-produced “Enjoy Your Life” was the highlight of her 2023 debut, an instant anthem about letting go of words and embracing pleasure. Author and nightlife scholar McKenzie Wark opens her classic book Furious with a statement of purpose. “The first thing I look for at raves: who needs it.” Pieces like these offered a defense of that need and an illustration of it. They felt, feel, meaningful.
Dancefloor pleasure also animates his return to album. In the Waves generally plays to his strengths. These include simplicity: “Still Summer” is essentially a filtered trance chord progression, a kickdrum and some screams. “The Feeling I Get From You” lays a collaged profession of love over some piano bar jingles and an electro-y beat. Both are class acts. She also has a guest list of top drawers, both sampled and in person. His collaboration with the Avalanches brings legendary poet Nikki Giovanni to the party through soaring turns of her Black Arts movement “Dance Poem,” and if, like me, you might not necessarily have been the target audience for her 1976 call for revolutionaries .guys, the psychedelic pop groove of the track is welcoming though. “Baddy on the Floor” brings in the iconic Honey Dijon for a gospel flurry, easily the band's most vital track. And “Life” lets Robin, that disco bard with mixed emotions, rip. “Let's fuck it tonight,” he orders over the French house, and who would say no? Music sounds better with it.
Even at the weirdest—the poetic summation of closer “Falling Together” or the electro-clash burst of “Daffodil,” in which Kelsey Lu, John Glacier, Panda Bear, and also A$AP Rocky get lost on a hot summer night—Wavy is greater than In colorto the spectacle of its sound and the reach of its potential audience. This is music that can be effortlessly placed into mainstream house sets and incorporated into TikTok challenges, chosen as the soundtrack to your holiday Insta carousels and added to your “memories of 2024” playlists. Nothing hits dance music like dance music for dancing, and on that front, In the Waves it's high time.
